NASA wants to shoot comets with a space harpoon. Go on, play the movie in your head. I’ll wait.
OK? Great.
It’s already built a prototype. The BBC reports: “The engineers believe it would be safer to collect comet material using the equipment rather than trying to land on the celestial bodies.” The idea is to launch the harpoon up to a mile away, stick it into a comet, and reap the sweet space-junk rewards. This has got to be one of the coolest up-and-coming jobs ever. Wanted: comet wrangler.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
